BEIJING, Oct. 20 -- More than 200 publishing houses from China brought nearly 10,000 different books to the six-day Frankfurt Book Fair that closed Sunday in Germany. Liu Binjie, minister of China's General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), predicted that Chinese book copyright exports may hit a record 2,000 this year.

    The China Publishing Group, a publishing giant that includes the People's Press, the People's Literature Press and many other State-owned presses, brought 426 kinds of books to the fair alone. They included 100 books published especially for the fair, with prospects of being translated into foreign languages and sold abroad, according to Li Pengyi, vice president of the group.

    "Five books we've brought, including 'Yu Dan's Reflections on The Analects,' 'A History of Chinese Civilization,' Yang Jiang's memoir 'We Three' and two other illustrated Chinese history books, are among 100 books subsidized by the GAPP which have been translated and published for the occasion," Li said.

    Tan Yue, president of Phoenix Publishing and Media, said his group's goal is to export 50 book copyrights to non Chinese-speaking countries. Phoenix brought more than 360 books, focusing on Chinese folk culture, art, travel guides and Chinese medicine, to the fair.

    Jieli Publishing, which specializes in children's books, has shared in the growth of the burgeoning market in China. Its editor-in-chief, Bai Bing, said the publisher brought 91 books from 21 series to the fair. One of the books, the German version of Cui An'er's novel "Dragon Totem" debuted at the fair.

    Two publishing houses, Dolphin Books and Jiangsu Juveniles and Children's Publishing House, also secured deals to export book copyrights to foreign publishers.

    The People's Literature Publishing House, China's leading publisher of literature, has signed an agreement with Andrew Nurnberg Associates to help Chinese authors sell translated books overseas.

    Meanwhile, Phoenix Publishing and Media will set up a joint venture with French publisher Le Groupe Hachette Livre to publish translated Chinese books in France and French books in China.

    (Debra Li)